Exhaust hood with air curtain

ABSTRACT

An exhaust hood captures and contains a thermal plume with a minimum of exhaust air by defining a short-throw planar jet around a protected perimeter. Corner interference is mitigated by various mechanisms including having at least one of adjacent planar jets run only partly along a respective edge such that said first and second curtain jets do not meet at said corner; having a direction of the planar jets proximate corners where they meet being intermediate between respective directions of the jets along respective main portions of the perimeter; or having a direction of the jets of one of the adjacent edges be horizontal while the other is vertical.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an exhaust hood that employs an aircurtain jet in combination with a hood geometry to enhance captureefficiency by channeling flow through a space narrowed by the aircurtain with augmentation of a vortical flow confined by the hood andcreation of a buffer zone defined by the combination of the hoodinterior and air curtain jet.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Exhaust hoods for ventilation of pollutants from kitchen appliances,such as ranges, promote capture and containment by providing a bufferzone above the pollutant source where buoyancy-driven momentumtransients can be dissipated before pollutants are extracted. Bymanaging transients in this way, the effective capture zone of anexhaust supply can be increased.

Basic exhaust hoods use an exhaust blower to create a negative pressurezone to draw effluent-laden air directly away from the pollutant source.In kitchen hoods, the exhaust blower generally draws pollutants,including room-air, through a filter and out of the kitchen through aduct system. An exhaust blower, e.g., a variable speed fan, containedwithin the exhaust hood is used to remove the effluent from the room andis typically positioned on the suction side of a filter disposed betweenthe pollutant source and the blower. Depending on the rate by which theeffluent is created and the buildup of effluent near the pollutantsource, the speed of exhaust blower may be manually set to minimize theflow rate at the lowest point which achieves capture and containment.

Referring to FIG. 1, a typical prior art exhaust hood 90 is located overa range 15. The exhaust hood 90 has a recess 55 with at least one vent65 (covered by a filter 60) and an exhaust duct 30 leading to an exhaustsystem (not shown) that draws off contaminated air 45. The vent 65 is anopening in a barrier 35 defining a plenum 37. The exhaust system usuallyconsists of external ductwork and one or more fans that pull air andcontaminants out of a building and discharge them to a treatmentfacility or simply into the atmosphere. The recess 55 of the exhausthood 90 plays an important role in capturing the contaminant becauseheat, as well as particulate and vapor contamination, is usuallyproduced by the contaminant-producing processes. The heat causes its ownthermal convection-driven flow or plume 10 which must be captured by thehood within its recess 55 while the contaminant is steadily drawn out ofthe hood. The recess creates a buffer zone to help insure that transientconvection plumes do not escape the steady exhaust flow through thevent. The convection-driven flow or plume 10 may form a vortical flowpattern 20 due to the Coanda effect, which causes the thermal plume 10to cling to the back wall. The exhaust rate in all practicalapplications is such that room air 5 is drawn off along with thecontaminants.

In reality, the vortical flow pattern 20 is not well-defined. The lowflow velocities and fluid strain scatter the mean flow energy into adistribution of turbulent eddies. These create flow transients 76 whichmay escape the mean flow 77 from the conditioned space into the suctionfield of the hood. Such transients are also caused by pulses in heat andgas volume such as surges in steam generation or heat output. Theproblem is one of a combination of overpowering the strongbuoyancy-driven flow using a high exhaust and buffering the flow so thata more moderate exhaust can handle the surges in load.

But basic hoods and exhaust systems are limited in their abilities tobuffer flow. The exhaust rate required to achieve full capture andcontainment is governed by the highest transient load pulses that occur.This requires the exhaust rate to be higher than the average volume ofeffluent (which is inevitably mixed with entrained air). Such transientscan be caused by gusts in the surrounding space and/or turbulence causedby the plug flow (the warm plume of effluent rising due to buoyancy).Thus, for full capture and containment, the effluent must be removedthrough the exhaust blower operating at a high enough speed to captureall transients, including the rare pulses in exhaust load. Providing ahigh exhaust rate—a brute force approach—is associated with energy losssince conditioned air must be drawn out of the space in which theexhaust hood is located. Further, high volume operation increases thecost of operating the exhaust blower and raises the noise level of theventilation system. Thus, there is a perennial need for ways ofimproving the ability of exhaust hoods to minimize entrained air and tobuffer transient fluctuations in exhaust load.

One technique described in the prior art involves the use of a source of“make up” air. The make-up is unconditioned air that is propelled towardthe exhaust blower. This “short circuit” system involves an outputblower that supplies and directs one, or a combination of, conditionedand unconditioned air toward the exhaust hood and blower assembly. Theaddition of an output blower creates a venturi effect above the cookingsurface, which forces the effluent, heat, grease, and other particlestoward the exhaust hood.

Such “short circuit” systems have not proven to reduce the volume ofconditioned air needed to achieve full capture and containment under agiven load condition. In reality, a short circuit system may actuallyincrease the amount of conditioned air that is exhausted. To operateeffectively, the exhaust blower must operate at a higher speed due tothe need to remove not only the effluent-laden air but also to removethe make-up air. Make-up air may also increase turbulence in thevicinity of the effluent source, which may increase the volume ofconditioned air that is entrained in the effluent, thereby increasingthe amount of exhaust required.

Another solution in the prior art is described in U.S. Pat. No.4,475,534 titled “Ventilating System for Kitchen.” In this patent, theinventor describes an air outlet in the front end of the hood thatdischarges a relatively low velocity stream of air downwardly. Accordingto the description, the relatively low velocity air stream forms acurtain of air to prevent conditioned air from being drawn into thehood. In the invention, the air outlet in the front end of the hoodassists with separating a portion of the conditioned air away from thehood. Other sources of air directed towards the hood create a venturieffect, as described in the short circuit systems above. As diagramed inthe figures of the patent, the exhaust blower must “suck up” air fromnumerous air sources, as well as the effluent-laden air. Also the use ofa relatively low velocity air stream necessitates a larger volume of airflow from the air outlet to overcome the viscous effects that thesurrounding air will have on the flow.

In U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,692 titled “Make-Up Air Device for Range Hood,”the inventor describes a typical short circuit system that relies on aventuri effect to remove a substantial portion of the effluent. Thepatent also illustrates the use of diverter vanes or louvers to directthe air source in a downwardly direction. Besides the problemsassociated with such short circuit systems described above, theinvention also utilizes vanes to direct the air flow of the outputblower. The use of vanes with relatively large openings, through whichthe air is propelled, requires a relatively large air volume flow tocreate a substantial air velocity output. This large, air volume flowmust be sucked up by the exhaust blower, which increases the rate bywhich conditioned air leaves the room. The large, air volume flow alsocreates large scale turbulence, which can increase the rate by which theeffluent disperses to other parts of the room.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Effluent is extracted from pollutant sources in a conditioned space,such a kitchen, by a hood whose effective capture and containmentcapability is enhanced by the user of air curtain jets positioned aroundthe perimeter of the hood. The particular range of velocities,positioning, and direction of the jets in combination with a shape ofthe hood recess, are such as to create a large buffer zone below thehood with an extended vortical flow pattern that enhances capture.

By positioning a series of jets on or near the exhaust hood and bydirecting the jets toward the (heated) pollutant source, the air jetsconfine the entry of conditioned air into the exhaust stream to aneffective aperture defined by the terminus of the air curtain. Thecurtain flows along a tangent of the vortical flow pattern, part ofwhich is within the canopy recess and part of which is below it andconfined and augmented by the curtain. The large volume defined by thecanopy interior, extended by the jets, creates a large buffer zone tosmooth out transients in plug flow. The enhanced capture efficiencypermits the exhaust blower to operate at a slower speed while enforcingfull capture and containment. This in turn minimizes the amount ofconditioned air that must be extracted with a concomitant reduction inenergy loss.

One aspect of the invention involves the shape of the exhaust hood. Thehood is shaped such that the stack effect of the heated, effluent-ladenair and the positioning and direction of the air jets creates a vortexunder the hood. The hood is preferably shaped so that its lowersurface—the outer surface closest to the cooking surface—is smooth androunded, thereby reducing the number and size of the dead air pocketsthat reside under the hood. Corners can create dead pockets of air,which affect the direction and speed of the air flow. The bulk flow dueto buoyancy of the heated pollutant stream creates a first airflow in anupward direction. The air jets create a second airflow directeddownwardly and offset from the first air flow. Between these twopatterns, a vortical flow arises which is sustained by them. This stablevortical flow minimizes the strain of the mean flow of the curtain whichreduces entrainment of room air into the curtain. In addition, thecurtain defines a smaller aperture for the flow of conditioned air intothe exhaust stream thereby causing it to have a higher velocity, whichin turn enhances the capture effect.

Another aspect of the invention involves the configuration of the airjets. The ideal configuration is dependent upon a number of factors,including the size of the cooking assembly, the cooking environment, andcertain user preferences. Although the dependency on the numerousfactors may change the ideal configuration from one environment to thenext, following certain principles, which are described below, increasethe efficiency of the system.

Multiple jets that have nozzles with smaller diameters and that propelair at a higher velocity are generally more effective than a single jetwith one long and narrow nozzle or even multiple jets with much largernozzles. The effectiveness of the air jets depends, in large part, onits output velocity. Air jets with larger nozzles must discharge air ata faster rate to achieve a comparable output velocity. Jets with loweroutput velocities create an air flow that dissipates more quickly due toloss of momentum to viscosity and may have a throw that is only a shortdistance from the nozzle.

On the other hand, smaller nozzles generally produce much smaller scaleturbulence and tend to disturb the thermal flow created by the cookingsurface to a lesser degree than larger scale turbulence. Smaller nozzlesalso require less air. Because of the lesser amount of air that isneeded for the air jets, the air jets can propel conditioned air,unconditioned air, or a mixture of the two. The use of conditioned airis preferable and eliminates the need for the air jets to have access toan outside source of air. The use of conditioned air also providesadditional benefits. For example, on a cold day, the use ofunconditioned air may cause discomfort to the chef who is working underthe cold air jets or may subject the cooking food to cold, untreated andparticle-carrying air. The use of cold, unconditioned air may alsoaffect the thermal flow of the effluent-laden air by creating orhighlighting an undesired air flow pattern due to the temperaturedifferences between the air jet air and the effluent-laden air.

The invention will be described in connection with certain preferredembodiments, with reference to the following illustrative figures sothat it may be more fully understood.

With reference to the figures, it is stressed that the particulars shownare by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of thepreferred embodiments of the present invention only, and are presentedin the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful andreadily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspectsof the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structuraldetails of the invention in more detail that is necessary for afundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken withthe drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the severalforms of the invention may be embodied in practice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional representation of a canopy style kitchenexhaust hood according to the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional representation of a wall-canopy stylekitchen exhaust hood according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional representation of a wall-canopy stylekitchen exhaust hood according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional representation of an island-canopy stylekitchen exhaust hood according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a panel of an exhaust hood with a seriesof jets to form a curtain jet.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional representation of a wall-canopy style hoodwith vertical and horizontal jets to augment capture and containmentaccording to still another embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 7-9 are plan views of various jet patterns according toembodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to FIG. 2, effluent produced when food is cooked on agrill 175 creates a plume 170 that rises into a canopy recess 140. Therecess 140 may be shaped to have a faceted or curved interior face toreduce resistance to a vortical flow 135. Grease or other particulatesmay be removed by an air filter 115, located in an exhaust vent 130inside the canopy recess 140.

In the current embodiment, a planar curtain jet 150 is generated byinjecting room air downwardly from a forward edge 141 of the canopy 145through apertures (not visible) in a horizontal face of the forward edge141. The forward edge 141 jet 150 may be fed from a duct 108 integral tothe canopy 145. Individual jets 151 are directed substantiallyvertically downward and spaced apart such that they coalesce into theplanar curtain jet 150 a short distance from the nozzles from which theyoriginate. The source of the conditioned air may be conditioned space oranother source such as make-up air or a combination of make-up andconditioned air. Although not illustrated, the exhaust assembly 10 canalso be designed with the curtain jet 150 directed downwardly but in adirection that is tilted toward a space 136 between the jet 150 and aback wall 137. The various individual jets 151 may be re-configurable topoint in varying directions to permit their combined effect to beoptimized.

During operation, pollutants are carried upwardly by buoyancy forming aflow 170 that attaches (due to the Coanda effect) to a rear boundingwall 137 due to the no flow boundary condition. The mass flow of flow170 is higher than a mean mass flow attributable to the exhaust rate andthe extra energy is dissipated in the canopy recess 140 as a turbulentcascade of successively smaller scale vortices of which the largest isvortical flow 135. In other words, the excess energy of thebuoyancy-driven flow is captured within the canopy recess 140 andreleased to a successively smaller eddies until its energy is lost toviscous friction.

In prior art systems, the vortex 135 and turbulent cascade areassociated with chaotic velocity fluctuations which, at the largerscales, can result in transient and repeated reverse flows 76 (SeeFIG. 1) that result in escape of effluent unless they are overwhelmed bythe exhaust flow rate. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the curtain jet 150forces the air being drawing from the room 156 into a narrower channel165 than the corresponding channel 6 of the prior art system. Thus, themean velocity of the flow from the room into the exhaust stream ishigher and better able to overwhelm the transient reverse flows 176associated with turbulent energy dissipation in the hood recess 140.

An additional advantageous effect is associated with the curtain jet 150and hood recess 140 combination. The curtain jet 150 helps to define alarger effective buffer zone 136 than the canopy recess 140 alone.Because the vortex 135 is larger, the fluid strain rate associated withit is smaller thereby producing lower velocity turbulent eddies andconcomitant random and reverse flows 176. The strain rate is furtherreduced by the moving boundary condition along the inside surface of thejet 150, which is moving rather than a stationary air mass outside thehood.

Preferably, the jet 150 is designed to propel air at such velocity andwidth that the downwardly directed air flow dissipates before gettingtoo close to the range 175. In other words, the jet's “throw” should notbe such that the jet reaches the Coanda plume 170. Otherwise, the Coandaflow plume 170 will be disrupted causing turbulent eddies and possibleescape of pollutants.

Referring now to FIG. 3, In an alternative embodiment, an exhaust hood225 is shaped such that the walls of its recess 240 surface form asmooth curve to reduce resistance to the 135 vortex. A recess containingsharp changes in profile and/or recesses, (e.g., a corner), createsturbulence, which can impede the vortex 135.

To enhance and prevent leakage from the sides, panels 236 are located onthe sides, thereby preventing effluent from escaping where the panels236 are present. Alternatively, the curtain jets 150 may extend aroundthe entire exposed perimeter of the hood 240.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an island pollutant source such as a grill 375is open on four sides. Curtain jets 350 are generated around an entireperimeter of an exhaust hood 325. The filters 315 are arranged in apyramidal structure or wedge-shaped, according to designer preference.The depth (dimension into the plane of the figure) of the hood 32S isarbitrary. In this case, the thermal plume 370 does not attach to asurface and forms a free-standing plume 370. Vortices 335 form in amanner similar to that discussed above with respect to the wall-mountedcanopy hoods 125 and 225.

Referring now to FIG. 5, which show two different perspectives of anarrangement of the air nozzles 20, each nozzle 20 is separated by adistance 22 and positioned to form a substantially straight line acrossthe front of the exhaust hood 18. The nozzles 20 are spaced apart fromeach other such that they form individual jets which combine into acurtain jet 15/350 which is two dimensional. This occurs because thejets expand due to air entrainment and coalesce a short distance fromthe nozzles 20. In a preferred embodiment, each of the nozzles 20 has anorifice diameter 24 of approximately 6.5 mm, and combined, the jets 20have an initial velocity of approximately 9 ft³/min/linear ft. (The“linear ft.” length refers to the length of the edge along which the jetgenerated.) Preferably, the range is between 3 and 15 ft³/min/linear ft.The velocity of the jet, of course, diminishes with distance from thenozzles 20. The initial velocity and jet size should be such that thejet velocity is close to zero by the time it reaches the plume 170/370.Alternatively, the jet 150/150 should be directed in such a directionthat its effect is not disruptive to the plume, for example, bydirecting the jet outwardly away from the hood recess 140/340. In fact,in an island application, because of cross-drafts in the conditionedspace, there may be a need to form a more robust curtain jet 350 toprotect the plume 370. In such a case, the overhang (the position of theperimeter of the hood, in a horizontal dimension, from the outermostedge of the pollutant source 375) and direction of the jet 350 may bemade such that there is little or no disruption of the plume due to thejet 350. Note that the nozzles 20 may simply be perforations in a plenumdefined by the front section 18 of the exhaust hood. Alternatively, theymay be nozzle sections with a varying internal cross section thatminimizes expansion on exit. The nozzles may contain flow conditionerssuch as settling screens and/or or flow straighteners.

Referring now to FIG. 6 as in the previous embodiments, a source ofpollutants, such as a grill 175 generates a hot effluent plume 175. Anozzle arrangement producing a prior art type of capture augmentationjet 451 is produced along the forward edge 466 of a canopy hood 425. Thenozzles are arrange to form a planar jet as discussed with respect tothe curtain jets 150/350 of previous embodiments. This horizontal jet450 pushes the plume 470 toward the exhaust vent 130. It also creates anegative pressure field around the forward edge 466 of the hood 425which helps containment. The prior art configuration, however, suffersfrom spillage of the effluent plume 470 from the sides of a canopy 425.According to the invention, a side curtain jet 452 may be used inconcert with the capture augmentation jet 451 to ameliorate the spillageproblem. The side curtain jet works in a manner as described above withrespect to the earlier embodiments. That is, it forces exhausted airfrom the surrounding conditioned space to flow through a narrowereffective aperture thereby providing greater capacity to overcomefluctuating currents with a lower volume exhaust rate than wouldotherwise be required. In an alternative embodiment, the side curtainjet is tilted inwardly to push the plume toward the center of the canopyrecess 440.

Referring to FIG. 7 in another alternative embodiment, a horizontalcapture augmentation jet 478 is generated around the entire perimeter ofthe hood 429 rather than forming a vertical curtain jet 453. Referringto FIG. 8 in still another embodiment, the capture augmentation jet 481extends only partly along the sides with a full capture augmentation jet450 across the forward edge of the hood. Referring to FIG. 9 in yetanother embodiment the forward edge capture jet 482 is formed byindividual jets. The ones at the corners 483 are directly toward thecenter as indicated. This helps to prevent side spillage.

It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is notlimited to the details of the foregoing illustrative embodiments, andthat the present invention may be embodied in other specific formswithout departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. Forexample, while in the embodiments described above, curtain jets wereformed using a series of round nozzles, it is clear that it is possibleto form curtain jets using a single slot or non-round nozzles. Also, thesource of air for the jets may be room air, outdoor air or a combinationthereof. The invention is also applicable to any process that forms athermal plume, not just a kitchen range. Also, the principles may beapplied to back shelf hoods which have no overhang as well as to thecanopy style hoods discussed above. Also, we note that although in theabove embodiments, the hood and vortex were discussed in terms of acylindrical vortex, it is possible to apply the same invention tomultiple cylindrical vortices joined at an angle at their ends such asto define a single toroidal vortex for an island canopy. The torusthereby formed could also be rectangular for low aspect-ratio islandhoods. Still further, in consideration of air curtain principles, itwould be possible to direct the curtain jets outwardly while stillproviding the described benefits. The present embodiments are thereforeto be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive,the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims ratherthan by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within themeaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended tobe embraced therein.

1-17. (canceled)
 18. An apparatus for removing cooking effluent from acooking appliance, the cooking effluent being such as to tend to riseupward by buoyancy effect as a plume, the apparatus comprising: anexhaust hood defining a recess with an access positioned above thecooking appliance, the recess having an exhaust vent, the exhaust hooddefining a perimeter with a side edge and a forward edge meeting at acorner, the exhaust hood being configured to generate a first curtainjet along the forward edge and a second curtain jet along the side edge,wherein one of the first curtain jet and the second curtain jet isdirected in a substantially horizontal direction and the other of thefirst curtain jet and the second curtain jet is directed substantiallydownward.
 19. An apparatus as in claim 18, wherein the first curtain jetand the second curtain jet are each formed by a series of orifices inthe perimeter projecting primary jets which coalesce to form arespective curtain.
 20. An apparatus as in claim 18, further comprisinga fan configured to feed air from a conditioned space to the exhausthood forward and side edges such that the first curtain jet and thesecond curtain jet are formed using the air fed from the conditionedspace.
 21. An apparatus as in claim 18, wherein one of the first curtainjet and the second curtain jet is fed by a flow of less than 10 ft³/minper linear foot of the edges along which the respective jet is formed.22. An apparatus as in claim 18, wherein the recess has a curved shape.23. (canceled)
 24. An apparatus as in claim 18, wherein the one of thefirst curtain jet and the second curtain jet directed in a substantiallyhorizontal direction is directed toward the recess.
 25. An apparatus asin claim 18, wherein the first curtain jet is directed in asubstantially horizontal direction toward the recess and the secondcurtain jet is directed substantially downward and away from the recess.26. An apparatus for removing cooking effluent from a cooking appliance,the cooking effluent being such as to tend to rise by buoyancy effect asa plume, the apparatus comprising: an exhaust hood defining a recesswith an access positioned above the cooking appliance, the recess havingan exhaust vent, the exhaust hood defining a perimeter with at least oneside edge and a forward edge, the forward edge meeting with each sideedge at a respective corner, the exhaust hood being configured togenerate a first curtain jet along the forward edge and a second curtainjet along each side edge; wherein one of the first curtain jet and thesecond curtain jet is substantially horizontally directed and the otherof the first curtain jet and the second curtain jet is substantiallyvertically directed.
 27. An apparatus as in claim 26, wherein the firstcurtain jet and the second curtain jet are each formed by a series oforifices in the perimeter projecting primary jets which coalesce to forma respective curtain.
 28. An apparatus as in claim 26, furthercomprising a fan configured to feed air from a conditioned space to theexhaust hood such that the first curtain jet and the second curtain jetare formed using the air fed from the conditioned space.
 29. Anapparatus as in claim 26, wherein one of the first curtain jet and thesecond curtain jet is fed by a flow of less than 10 ft³/min per linearfoot of the edges along which the respective curtain jet is formed. 30.An apparatus as in claim 26, wherein the recess is curved between theforward edge and the exhaust vent.
 31. An apparatus as in claim 26,wherein the one of the first curtain jet and the second curtain jet isdirected substantially toward the recess.
 32. An apparatus as in claim26, wherein the other of the first curtain jet and the second curtainjet is directed substantially away from the recess.
 33. (canceled) 34.An apparatus as in claim 18, wherein a nozzle arrangement configured togenerate the one of the first and second curtain jets faces the recess.35. An apparatus as in claim 26, wherein a direction of the one of thefirst and second curtain jets and a direction of the other of the firstand second curtain jets are perpendicular to each other.
 36. Anapparatus as in claim 26, wherein the first curtain jet is substantiallyhorizontally directed and the second curtain jet is substantiallyvertically directed.
 37. An apparatus for removing cooking effluent froma cooking appliance, the apparatus comprising: an exhaust hood defininga recess and a perimeter, the recess having an access positioned abovethe cooking appliance and an exhaust vent, the perimeter including atleast one side edge and a forward edge, each side edge meeting theforward edge at a respective corner, the forward edge being configuredto generate a first curtain jet and each side edge being configured togenerate a second curtain jet, wherein one of the first curtain jet andthe second curtain jet is directed substantially toward the recess, theother of the first curtain jet and the second curtain jet is directedsubstantially away from the recess, and the first curtain jet isdirected substantially orthogonal to the second curtain jet.
 38. Anapparatus as in claim 37, wherein the first curtain jet is substantiallyhorizontally directed, and the second curtain jet is substantiallyvertically directed.